As November comes to a close, here is a wrap-up of good things I discovered this month and told all my friends and family about, especially during Thanksgiving weekend. They’ve heard enough, so now I’m sharing it here. 🙂

1.The little keyboard I bought for my ipad turned it into a netbook for under $40 – if we don’t factor in the money I spent on the iPad mini a couple of years ago. My accountant friend told me it’s a “sunk cost,” so I’m correct in saying this was a great deal. Not to hype it up too much or anything, but I do think I’m onto a new trend of switching out bulky laptops for lighter tablet/keyboard combos. At least when traveling, anyway.

My ipad looks like a netbook with it’s keyboard case

2. I created a Contently profile a couple of weeks ago (https://daniellebrody.contently.com/). It presents all my clips visually, plus it tabulated all these numbers of shares each article got which I didn’t even know happened. Not only did it make me feel more popular, but their Freelancer articles make me feel less alone. Like in one, someone mentioned how they write stories at home in their PJs. Not that I do that or anything…

3. Evernote. This goes along with my iPad happiness. I type my notes on Evernote and start writing my blog post right there on the train. At home I go on to my laptop, sign on to Evernote, and I pick up where I left off. Thank you cloud.

4. Wearables! Ok, I don’t actually own any techie wearables yet, but I keep reading about them, hearing talk about them and have seen plenty of startups getting in on the space. There’s just so much potential! Especially for health and prevention.

Of course I see potential for getting obsessed with tracking our body data, but we all learn our boundaries with new technology. (RIP crackberries) And information breaches. The fact that technology keeps getting closer and closer to our bodies does make me a little wary. Once we all start wearing these watches, the only barrier is our skin, which leads me to believe in 50 years we’ll actually be comfortable putting tech into our bodies.

5. IBM Watson. I went to two events in the past few weeks where Watson, known to many as IBM’s Jeopardy king, has come up with recipes that I got to eat. I bet you didn’t know Watson creates recipes based on the science of what combinations taste good. Being that he’s an information-packed computer, it’s not a surprise. At Uncubed on Nov. 14, IBM served Watson-created trail mix and truffle oil rosemary infused popcorn. Watson is all brains though, meaning he doesn’t actually cook. So I kind of want my own Watson, but I think I could survive with a low-tech version (below), or the Internet until he goes mainstream.

6. Finding the book WhatShould I Do With My Life. This book stood out to me at a library book sale because I’m ruminating over that question. I know what you’re thinking – recent grad book bait. That may be true of the book I Just Graduated…Now What, which, side note, I started reading and was disappointed. How can I relate to Katherine Schwarzenegger, who nonchalantly writes about interning at CNN, co-hosting with Anderson Cooper and her mom giving the commencement speech?! Anyway…the book I’m reading now is for the commoner and written by one too. I happen to be about 12 years late on this best-seller since it was published in 2002. I’m glad it has a second life with me. I don’t quite have an answer to the question yet, but I’m loving reading about other people’s stories of how they found their calling.

7. If you haven’t heard about it by now, Serial, is awesome. It’s a podcast that digs deep into one 1999 murder case. Listening to a story, not watching, strips away distractions and allows me to focus on the narration and hear nuances in all of the characters’ voices, which is how real detectives investigate a crime. The medium of the story is kind of raw, but has also been well-produced, making it totally captivating.

8. Thanksgiving! I had a wonderful day cooking with my family and then eating, of course. I had to include a few pictures.

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9. In the same vein, I’m thankful for friends, family and followers! When I was in high school, I started the school’s first blog, Edgeonline. This was 2009. Blogging had been a bit taboo and it was extremely difficult to get people on board. A lot has changed in the past five years. Now having a blog is normal, but still, the support means a lot.

If you’re into any of these things or want to talk about them more, reach out or leave a comment! I love to chat.